408 
JOURNAL  OF  HORTICULTURE  AND  COTTAGE  GARDENER . 
May  13,  1897. 
IN  SEARCH  OF  SUNSHINE. 
The  City  of  the  Flowery  Plain. 
A  dull  sky,  a  sea  of  slush — London.  A  golden  stream  of 
■unny  light,  a  broad  expanse  of  brilliant  blossoms — Haarlem.  A 
few  hours,  made  comfortable  almost  to  luxuriousness  by  the  enter¬ 
prising  Great  Eastern,  brought  about  the  wonderful  transformation. 
One  evening  I  gazed  upon  a  melancholy  vista  of  dripping  roofs, 
draggly  trees,  and  sloppy  streets,  the  next  morning  my  eyes  were 
gladdened  by  visions  of  beauty  almost  too  great  for  words.  I 
struck  sunshine  at  the  first  attempt,  and  not  sunshine  alone,  but  its 
best  accompaniments,  hosts  of  gay  and  fragrant  flowers,  spreading 
for  miles  in  every  direction,  lining  the  roadsides,  filling  the  fields, 
showing  themselves  in  every  window,  decorating  the  children  on 
their  way  to  school,  heaped  up  in  deep  baskets  and  high  mounds, 
dominating,  in  fact,  the  whole  face  of  animate  and  inanimate 
nature.  The  cost  of  seeing  it  all  is  about  the  price  of  a  day  at 
Sandown  or  Epsom,  when  every  winner  has  mysteriously  turned 
out  to  be  a  loser,  just  in  the  sweet  old  way.  Happy  gardener  ! 
whose  “  tip  ”  is  to  pin  his  faith  on  the  cycle  of  floral  pleasure, 
which  always  catches  the  judge’s  eye. 
Since  first  I  rambled  by  the  dykes  and  dunes  of  Holland  there 
have  come  about  certain  changes  in  the  route,  all  making  for  speed, 
comfort,  and  economy.  Time  was  when  the  traveller  had  to  feast 
his  eyes  on  banks  of  unspeakable  mud  two  or  three  hours  after  the 
sea  journey  proper  was  over,  then  work  his  way  across  a  busy  town 
to  the  station.  He  can  do  that  still  if  it  so  please  him,  but  the 
necessity  for  it  has  been  removed  by  the  provision  of  a  spacious 
landing  quay,  custom  house,  and  station  at  the  mouth  of  the  river. 
By  an  inspiration  of  terse  and  expressive  nomenclature  this  has 
been  called  the  Hook  of  Holland.  It  really  provides  links  for  a 
chain  engirdling  all  Europe.  It  connects  directly  with  Hamburg, 
Berlin,  Cologne,  and  Bale.  The  trains  are  swift ;  the  steamers  are 
magnificent  combinations  of  seaworthiness  and  comfort.  Con¬ 
venient  through  tickets  are  issued  at  special  rates.  As  an  English¬ 
man  I  have  three  wishes — to  go  somewhere,  to  get  there  quickly, 
and  to  escape  extortions  on  the  way.  It  is  my  own  fault,  and  not 
that  of  the  railway  company,  if  I  am  not  satisfied  with  the 
confidence  reposed  in  the  Great  Eastern. 
The  untravelled  Briton  has  a  certain  suspicion  of  foreigners. 
Well,  the  stranger  who  takes  you  to  his  bosom  with  the  greatest 
fervour  is  usually  the  likeliest  to  have  his  hand  in  your  pocket. 
But,  speaking  broadly,  I  think  a  man  who  can  cope  successfully 
with  a  London  cabman  will  prove  equal  to  any  continental 
emergency.  Occasionally  there  is  a  preliminary  stumble  at  the 
Custom  House.  For  instance,  it  is  one  of  the  eccentricities  of  the 
otherwise  admirable  Dutch  Government  that  it  regards  tobacco  as 
a  necessity  and  admits  it  untaxed,  while  it  holds  sugar  to  be  a 
luxury,  and  pops  on  a  stiff  duty.  A  friend  was  pulled  up  sharply 
for  possession  of  a  sweet  cake.  The  Customs  official  blandly 
smiled  and  asked  for  4s.  The  staggered  owner  hesitated  and  tried 
bluster ;  no  use.  Then  he  resorted  to  strategy.  He  magnanimously 
presented  the  cake  to  the  officer  and  passed  on.  But  the  latter, 
more  bland  than  ever,  sailed  in  again.  He  took  the  duty  and  the 
cake  as  well  I  If  when  travelling  you  want  to  have  your  future 
career  tenderly  blessed  give  porters  and  tram  conductors  abroad 
3d.  If  you  want  your  ancestors  and  your  descendants  for  several 
generations  to  share  in  the  blessings  heaped  upon  you  give  a  ^d. 
instead  of  3d.,  but  firft  of  all  allow  yourself  to  be  cheated  out  of  a 
Id.  Such  are  the  teachings  of  experience. 
The  way  to  reach  the  heart  of  the  bulb  district  is  to  take  the 
train  to  Leyden  vid  The  Hague  (change  here  and  wait  twenty 
minutes  or  half  an  hour,  same  platform).  A  steam  tram  runs 
about  every  hour  from  Leyden  to  Haarlem,  and  passes  through  all 
the  bulb  villages,  such  as  Sassenheim,  Lisse,  Hillegom,  and  Benne- 
broek.  I  do  not  speak  Dutch,  and  the  worthies  who  drive  and 
conduct  the  trams  did  not  speak  English.  We  were,  however,  on 
terms  of  the  warmest  mutual  regard  and  respect,  and  I  went  up  and 
down,  around  and  about,  with  the  greatest  confidence  and  without 
the  slightest  confusion  or  mistake.  The  secret  is  a  judicious  dis¬ 
tribution  of  largesse.  A  tram  conductor  who  received  5  cents  (one 
penny)  every  time  he  put  me  down  at  exactly  the  right  spot  never 
fell  into  forgetfulness.  His  eye  was  upon  me  all  the  way. 
Frequently  he  smiled  encouragingly,  and  when  the  right  moment 
came  he  was  there  at  the  door,  cheerfully  beckoning  and  bowing. 
If  I  had  not  got  out  then  he  would  have  carried  me  and  expected 
no  more. 
My  route,  for  personal  reasons,  was  not  the  one  indicated  ;  but 
had  it  been,  probably  my  first  stop  would  have  been  Hillegom. 
Within  two  minutes  of  the  tram  terminus  there  is  the  nursery  of 
Messrs.  Yan  Meerbeek  &  Co.,  who  do  a  large  retail  trade  in 
England.  The  place  is  well  worth  a  call,  and  the  managing- 
partner,  Mr.  Adrian  van  Waveren,  is  a  courteous  and  willing 
guide.  The  business  has  enormously  increased  since  I  visited  the 
nursery,  seven  years  ago.  There  are  larger  stores,  more  land, 
and  new  houses.  Descriptive  catalogues  are  published  in  four 
languages — English,  French,  German,  and  Dutch  ;  but  the  principal 
part  of  the  trade  is  with  England.  It  is  obviously  done  on  com¬ 
plete  and  careful  lines,  for  the  stocks  are  very  large  and  clean. 
I  was  very  nearly  too  late  for  Hyacinths  and  Narcissi,  and  a  little 
too  early  for  Tulips  ;  but  I  fared  best  with  the  latter.  It  would 
be  tedious  to  run  into  lists  of  names,  but  I  might  mention  a  few 
special  things.  Although  the  day  of  the  Dutch  florists’  Tuljp  is 
in  the  past,  there  is  a  constant  and  increasing  demand  for  new 
varieties  of  the  early  section — so  beautiful  for  beds,  and  indeed 
also  for  pots.  On  a  large  farm  these  novelties  are  seen  in 
quantity.  For  instance,  there  is  the  true  Scarlet  Pottebakker, 
a  variety  which  we  highly  esteem,  but  do  not  always  receive.  It 
is  known  in  Holland  as  Grace  Darling,  whereas  the  spurious 
Scarlet  Pottebakker  is  grown  under  the  name  of  Verboom.  The 
latter  may  be  a  good  Dutch  name,  but  Grace  Darling  is  a  glorious 
English  one,  and  I  can  vouch  for  it  that  the  variety  is  far  superior 
to  the  other.  So  rich  is  it,  so  brilliant,  so  glowing,  that  the  sight 
of  it  is  almost  as  cheering  as  the  »ight  of  the  devoted  English, 
fisher  girl  must  have  been  to  the  forlorn  mariners  in  whose  salva¬ 
tion  she  immortalised  herself. 
Rose  Hawk,  a  beautiful  form  of  the  well  known  White  Hawk,, 
is  equally  as  good  as  that  fine  variety.  Amongst  later  bloomers 
Koh-i-Noor,  Marquis  de  Westrade,  and  Pink  Beauty  must  be 
mentioned.  The  first  is  a  very  dark  red,  the  second  a  yellow  with 
red  stripe,  and  the  third  a  very  delicate  pink,  distinct  in  shape. 
All  are  worth  growing  by  Tulip  lovers.  There  are  several  notable 
doubles.  Queen  Emma  is  a  bright  red  with  lighter  shadings,  La 
Coquette  is  a  deep  yellow  with  orange  shading,  Mrs.  Cleveland  is  a 
fine  rose,  Prince  of  Wales  is  a  rich  dark  red,  Yuurbaak  a  fine 
glowing  scarlet.  About  the  best  new  yellow  is  Golden  King.  The 
variegated -leaved  Tulips  are  not  very  extensively  grown  in  Britain,* 
but  they  would  be  if  they  could  be  bedded  as  they  are  in  Holland, 
for  they  are  exceedingly  beautiful.  Many  are  forms  of  well 
known  green-leaved  sorts ;  for  instance,  there  are  variegated  Due 
Yan  Thol,  Cottage  Maid,  Yellow  Pottebakker,  Royal  Standard, 
La  Candeur  (d),  Rex  Rubrorum  (d),  and  many  other  well  known 
Tulips.  _ 
Messrs.  Yan  Meerbeek  have  added  greatly  to  their  glass.  They 
grow  enormous  quantities  of  Gesneraceous  plants.  Achimenes  ana 
Tydasas  are  a  special  feature.  One  of  the  finest  plants  in  flower  at 
the  time  of  my  visit  was  Ismene  calathina.  Most  people  would 
consider  it  hardly  so  graceful  as  Pancratium  fragrans,  but  it  bears  a 
general  likeness  to  that  favourite  plant,  and  when  its  early  flowering 
character  and  adaptability  to  forcing  are  borne  in  mind  its  usefulness 
becomes  apparent. _ 
From  Hillegom,  with  its  handsome  villas  and  generally  prosperous 
air,  to  the  next  place,  the  village  of  Bennebroek,  there  is  nothing 
but  bulbs.  Only  a  trade  buyer  would  wish  to  spend  day  after  day 
in  closely  scrutinising  the  individual  stocks  of  every  grower  ;  but 
the  most  casual  amateur  would  find  food  for  admiration  in  the 
magnificent  spectacle  of  hundreds  of  acres  of  Hyacinths  and 
Tulips.  I  do  not  wish  to  rhapsodise,  for  if  I  did  I  might  be 
led  on  to  the  same  lengths  as  the  writer  who  peopled  the  water¬ 
ways  with  Naiads.  Fancy  Naiads  in  a  Dutch  canal !  Barges  laden 
with  cow  manure  if  you  like,  for  there  are  long  strings  of  them,  but 
Naiads  !  I  pass  on.  However,  the  general  view  is  so  magnificent 
that  plain  words  seem  inexpressive  after  all.  The  flat  fields  are 
alive  with  colour.  Some  people  call  Tulips  gaudy,  but  when  scores 
of  varieties  blend  their  hues  with  each  other  there  is  no  garishness. 
There  is  really  hardly  any  limit  to  the  diversity  of  shades,  and 
each  variety  has  its  character.  The  most  effective  soon  pro¬ 
claim  themselves.  Yermilion  Brilliant,  the  true  Scarlet  Pottebakker 
(Grace  Darling),  and  Rembrandt  are  three  of  the  finest  reds. 
Chrysolora,  Ophir  d’Or,  and  Yellow  Pottebakker  have  a  tussle 
amongst  the  yellows,  and  Joost  Yan  Vondel  (white)  and  White 
Pottebakker  are  very  prominent  amongst  the  whites.  But  some  of 
the  most  beautiful  sorts  do  not  fall  into  any  of  the  above  classes. 
Proserpine  stands  in  one  of  its  own,  so  do  Le  Matelas  (a  beautiful 
rose),  Joost  Yan  Yondel  (crimson  and  white),  the  old  familiar 
Keizer’s  Kroon  ;  Cottage  Maid,  most  beautiful  of  rosy  pink  sorts 
Queen  of  the  Netherlands,  soft  flesh  colour  ;  Thomas  Moore,  almost 
orange  coloured  ;  Yan  der  Neer,  purplish  lilac  ;  Wouwerman,  claret. 
It  is  the  same  with  Hyacinths.  The  grower*  evolve  many 
new  sorts  yearly,  but  they  have  not  yet  improved  on  King  of  the 
